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August 2017

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AUGUST 2017
PHOTOGRAPHY
+
RENDERING
COURTESY
DIAMOND
SCHMITT
ARCHITECTS
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
New Campus Project
by NATALIE BRUCKNER-MENCHELLI
I
t's fair to say that the Emily
Carr University of Art + Design
New Campus Project on Great
Northern Way in Vancouver, B.C.
is unlike anything seen before.
As the first purpose-built institution
of art and design in Canada, its primary
goal is to not only captivate and
motivate a new generation of thinkers,
creators and makers, but also to
welcome and include the community
at large. Drive past the new campus
with its multi-toned, multi-layered
surfaces that integrate vivid colours
inspired by the artist Emily Carr, and
you will see the team involved in this
impressive project have gone above
and beyond to meet those goals.
"The idea came about 16 years ago
when Finning International donated
18 acres of land on Great Northern
Way to Emily Carr, BCIT, SFU and UBC,"
explains Dr. Ron Burnett, who has
served as president of the Emily Carr
University of Art + Design since 1996.
As the first building on what was
previously industrial land, the new
campus had to set the tone for what
is to become a new neighbourhood
for education and research.
So how was this achieved? First,
it was determined that the building
should adhere to the University's eight
principles: Students at the centre;
making it accessible for the public; being
closer to home; making and remaking;
21st-century infrastructure; access and
diversity; visibility and transparency;
and to exemplify the innovation within.
It was essential that the right team
would come onboard to ensure those
ideas were translated into a LEED Gold
building that would stand the test of time.
Through a P3 process, the team
was chosen and extensive consultation
began. "There were 53 different user
groups and close to 200 consultation
sessions to help create an identity
unique to Emily Carr University,"
explains Ana Maria Llanos from
Diamond Schmitt Architects who
worked in joint venture with Chernoff
Thompson Architects. "There were a
lot of players coming together to make
sure the building was code compliant
and did what it needed to do," adds
Naomi Gross of Chernoff Thompson.
As a fast track project, construction
packages were issued prior to
design completion, and so structural
consultants Bush, Bohlman & Partners
LLP used an integrated design process
with 3D Revit modelling to reduce
the number of changes as the design
advanced. EllisDon was an obvious
choice as the general contractor on
the project and ensured the building,
which is located on a tight site,
would come together smoothly.
Looking at the exterior of
the building, it is really quite
something. For the four-storey
campus, Vancouver artist and Emily
Carr University professor Landon
Mackenzie, in collaboration with
painter and colleague Ben Reeves,
conceived the colour selections for
the exterior and created a palette
of 15 colours to reflect and honour
the work of the painter Emily Carr.
"The exterior expression of the
building was conceived as a white
canvas," says Llanos. "Two types of
metal cladding were used, aluminum
Kalzip panels, which are the horizontal
panels, and a standing seam metal panel
with seams that run vertically. This
range of materials helps create texture
and shadows, and adjusts according
to how the light falls on the panels."
To the east, the building is sited
to create an arts plaza that provides
access to the building on level one. A
loggia provides a weather-protected,
south-facing veranda overlooking the
Arts Plaza and to the north, a crosswalk
provides controlled pedestrian
access from a parking lot north of
the site. To the south, the principal
entrance to the university is located
on St.George Plaza and accesses the
building on level two where a canopy
protects the entrance ramp and
seating. In fact, there are three public
entryways, two on level one and one
on level two as the building site slopes
about five metres from end to end.
"The main entrance off St. George's
plaza was a deliberate move to establish
a prominent presence and provide a
relationship to this important public
space," says Llanos. "When you come in
the main entrance on Great Northern
Way you enter the building on level
two, which is the most public floor.
Here you find the concourse or central
internal public space, the art gallery,
a 400-seat auditorium, the main
Emily Carr University of Art + Design New Campus Project
Bush Bohlman.indd